Kelly keegan

GRIT IN MAINSTREAM EDUCATION 
Recently, mainstream educators across the 
United States have responded to the research 
on grit, and as a result, many schools now 
include grit as a part of their character-
development programs alongside other positive 
traits like “self-control, social intelligence, 
gratitude, optimism, and curiosity” (Tough 
2011, 5). For example, school districts in 
California have moved forward to test students 
on social–emotional skills related to grit, such 
as “self-control and conscientiousness” (Zernike 
2016, 1). Educators are also discussing how to 
develop grit, and some agree that learning how 
to deal with failure is a necessary component 
(Tough 2011). Tough (2012) uses applicable 
stories from children and innovative educators 
to illustrate how important it is for parents and 
schools to teach children character qualities 
that include grit. 
Although psychologists and mainstream 
educators are looking at grit, it has yet to 
be examined and discussed in the specific 
context of second- or foreign-language 
learning. Examining grit in language learners 
could provide insights in the field of language 
acquisition and help to foster higher-achieving 
language learners. Becoming effective 
communicators in their second or foreign 
language is the long-term goal of most 
language learners. One can hypothesize that in 
order for learners to achieve this challenging 
goal, a great deal of grit is needed.
CONNECTION OF GRIT TO SECOND- AND 
FOREIGN-LANGUAGE RESEARCH
Characteristics of grit have been examined 
in the second- and foreign-language learning 
context indirectly, but second-language (L2) 
researchers have not yet utilized specific 
research on grit or the Grit Scale to measure 
grit in language learning. Nevertheless, a 
review of L2 research reveals that certain 
characteristics and features of grit were 
addressed decades ago. The landmark report 
about good language learners by Naiman et al. 
(1978) was intended to correlate successful 
language learning with aptitude, personality 
traits, and attitudes and motivation; I use 
those characteristics to guide the following 
discussion, which highlights grit’s connection 
with past L2 research.
Aptitude
Intelligence and aptitude were among the first 
factors likely to affect L2 language learning, 
according to Naiman et al. (1978). However, 
a study of highly proficient adult language 
learners found that aptitude for language 
learning was not necessarily an important 
factor in learners’ overall achievement 
(Naiman et al. 1978). In fact, a majority of the 
study participants did not consider themselves 
to have a talent for learning languages; rather, 
the participants felt they had determination 
and strong motivation for learning. 
There has been a revival of interest in 
aptitude over the last decade or so; currently, 
researchers are considering aptitude within 
a more dynamic construct that “is composed 
of different subcomponents, all of which are 
necessary for language learning” (Sparks et al. 

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